A Path Not Taken A Path Not Taken By; spoiledsquish A/N: I thought up this fic as I was reading Gia's "A Convenient Marriage" that I had saved to disk on my computer. I guess you could say she was my inspiration for this fic.. Love you, girl! Your writing is brilliant! Distribution: FF.net, My site (), Enchanting Place (sorry I haven't updated my fics there in like, forever!), Sempiternal Beloved, BA Fluff, Fear of Dying, and anywhere else that I usually post to. If you want and I don't normally post to you, just ask me first and tell me where my fic's being hosted at. I'll be more than happy to let you have it! Spoilers: Really the whole BTVS series and everything just after S5 ep where Spike comes back, but Eve never ever surfaced. Mainly spoilers up to Buffy S6 and Angel S3, though there mentions of later seasons as the story progresses. This does take place as Angel is starting to think he's "in love" (rolls eyes) with Cordelia and right after Buffy kisses spike at the end of "OMWF". It's AU from there and everything else is fair play. Pairings: B/A, as per usual. Plus, mentions of C/D, C/X, and W/O. Mix in undertones of A/C, and B/S, and what do you get? Angst, angst, and more angst! Rating: PG-13 to R for language. My love scenes pretty much just suck, so I tend to leave the cool stuff up to my fave authors such as Tango, Indie, Gia, Meghan (who hasn't finish Galway's Womanizing Irish Brogue, damn you!), Ducks (I feel for you, girl!), Dani, Sarah, Margot Le Faye, the House of Blues team (Chad, Baby Blues, and Audball, you guys rock!), August528, Brityanca and any authors whom I have missed I am truly sorry. Dedication: To Starrkitty, just 'cuz I've always loved her site and her fic "Someone Else Is In The Wings", which is nowhere to be found. I hope you update your fic and your site soon, girl! This fic is also dedicated to the only other person who has helped me to give me advice on my website and fics, Donnatella. D, this is your time to shine! Also, congrats on the awards! I would like to host them at the site, if that's all right with you! Just reply back to me when you get the chance. Summary: Years into the future, a daughter of two former warriors is called in by the PTB to go back in time and make things right. Her life, and the fate of the world, depends on it. A/N 2: I know this plot has probably been worked many a time, but I had to put a spoiledsquish turn on it! Also, there was never any Dawn or Connor, Doyle never died, Angel never slept with Darla, Lindsey never left town, Joyce never died (at least, not until years later, when Buffy and Angel's kid was like, 13.) and in Pylea, there was never any Groo. Instead, there was just an alternate reality Doyle. Chapter 1 A/N: Stole various quotes from various seasons. Italics mean flashbacks. And the famous last lines from the gift were changed. Willow was the one who was up on the tower with her. Chapter 1 Los Angeles, California: 2025 Warrior. Fighter. Chosen. These are words you associate easily with my family. My name is Elizabeth Faith O'Connor, and my parents saved the world. They're heroes in their own right. My mother, Elizabeth "Buffy" Anne Summers, has died twice, sacrificing herself for people she loved and the world. And she did it all because she knew it was the right thing to do. She was and still is a vampire slayer. Longest living one known to mankind. Her sister Slayer Faith, my Aunt, is second longest living one. They're the first in a long of vampire Slayers. Even got Aunt Willow to perform some witchcraft thing giving all these potential Slayers the power of knowing what the Slayer feels like when she's in battle. That's a whole other story, though, that I really don't want to go into. My father is Liam O'Connor, better known as Angel or 'Angelus-The Scourge of Europe', whichever you prefer. He killed millions of people before he fed on a gypsy daughter in Romania in 1898. He was cursed by her family, a pack of gypsies, and destined to have a soul for eternity, to remember all of those innocents he'd killed and to make him suffer for their deaths. Too bad those gypsies weren't around about hundred years later, when my parents met. My father lost his soul on my mom's 17th birthday, only hours after they'd consummated their relationship. According to the gypsy curse, "one moment of true happiness, of content, one moment where the soul that we restored no longer plagues his thoughts, then that soul is taken from him." And it was. He went on a killing spree for months afterwards. Aunt Willow, bless her heart restored his soul. Somehow, Granddad Giles' then girlfriend, Jenny Calendar, had drummed up a revised and mostly translated curse that she was going to perform as a makeup present to my mom for not telling her about her origin and her reasons for being in Sunnydale in the first place. It would have worked, too, if my father's counterpart, Angelus, hadn't been at the factory that night. His crazy childe Dru had one of those visions or whatever it is that crazy people have. Anyway, she tipped him off, and Angelus broke her neck. He'd thought he'd gotten rid of all traces of that soul, but I guess Jenny had saved it onto a disk that Mom found one day while studying for finals with Aunt Willow. Too bad Mom never got that chance to see Willow restore his soul. She was so blinded by her meeting with Angelus, she never saw the trap coming. Drusilla and his minions were sent to kill Mom's friends and her then sister Slayer Kendra. They injured Will, and killed Kendra while Granddad Giles' was kidnapped and held hostage by Angelus. So, my Mom did the most important and biggest life altering decision that she ever made. She killed my father. Not that that concerned me much, because he's a vampire. She sent him to hell for three months, which in Hell terms is about a thousand years. He came back, thank god. Thus starting the whole drama of my parent's relationship all over. So, where was I? Right, Mom had sent dad to Hell. Anyway, he came back months later, all confused. The only thing he recognized was my Mom.Aww, sweet, huh? Anyway, they went through the on-again, off-again phase until Grandma Joyce convinced my dad that he was a distraction to Mom and convinced him to break up with her and leave town. That's something I can never forgive and will ever forgive her for. Daddy broke up with her on the eve of Prom, the most important high school moment of a teenage girl's life! Mom went stag, and the senior class presented her with a first-time ever award.'Class Protector'. Daddy showed up and they shared one last night of happiness, and then Dad disappeared virtually until Graduation Day. Aunt Faith, who was a big pain in the ass then, not to mention evil, poisoned Dad. The cure? Slayer's blood. Mom meant to bring him Faith, but their fight ended up with Faith nearly left for dead in a coma and with Daddy dying by the minute, Mom gave herself to him. Left a pretty nasty scar, too. After the Mayor's ascension (Mom's nemesis at the time), Daddy left. No goodbye, no words, nothing. It was too hard on him, I guess. He came to Los Angeles to "fight evil and atone for his crimes." Whoa! I just channeled Uncle Doyle there. Anyway, he met up with Cordelia (whom I don't consider to be a member of my family, by the way-I'll let you in on that little secret later.) and a half-demon Doyle, and together the three of them fought the local evil. Enter in Uncle Wesley. A 'rogue demon hunter.' He and street fighter Charles Gunn joined forces with my father and his friends to form "AI: Angel Investigations." A detective agency. Anyway, a year later, they hook up with an aura reading demon Lorne and rescue a former librarian Aunt Fred (who later married my Uncle Wesley!) from a different dimension called Pylea. That doesn't even begin my parent's fucked up time. When Daddy got back from Pylea, Aunt Willow was waiting for him. I'm sure you already guessed it by now. Mom was dead. She sacrificed herself because she found out that not only was she a Slayer, but a Key to opening up about a million different Hell dimensions with her blood. Parts of her strength were made from Monks who sent her own blood to herself (am I still making with the sense here, huh?) to protect it from Glory. Daddy came to her funeral. They'd had it at night because they knew Mom would have wanted it that way. He'd placed a single white rose on her grave before leaving town and the country, might I add, so that he could work through his grief of losing my Mom. Then Mom came back, courtesy of Aunt Willow's resurrection skills. She came back and almost killed herself that same night, if Uncle Xander hadn't saved her. When Dad found out, they met in between Los Angeles and Sunnydale, where I'm assuming since they never actually told anyone- including me- that they fought. a lot. Both went back to their respective places and both started to try and move on. Dad started believing what everyone around him was telling him. Things about kye-rumption and moira.about how Cordelia was his true soul mate, the one he was destined to be with, forever and always. Mom? She went through a deep depression and started fucking my dad's grandchilde, my Uncle Spike. He'd been in love with her since after he'd gotten defanged with a chip in his head and started re-obsessing about killing my Mom. Eventually, she ended it, just before her former boyfriend (the average Joe she dated for almost two years after Dad left) Riley Finn came back to town with his newlywed bride Samantha. That's when everyone found out. Found out about Mom and Spike, about Daddy and Cordelia.about everything. And for a moment, the world stopped going, time stopped ticking, and hearts stopped beating. How had the world gotten so out of whack in so little time? Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Elizabeth was almost finished tying her history report on her computer when there was a soft knock on the door. Elizabeth saved her report to a disk and muttered, "Come in, Dad." "How'd you know it was me?" Angel O'Connor asked her as he sat down in a nearby chair. "I always know, Daddy. You're the only one who doesn't barge into my room, remember? Mom doesn't even knock, not that she needs to. My friends always make noise as they're coming up the stairs, and none of the family usually find me in my room. Really, it was a simple deduction." She smirked. "What is it?" "I have to go away for a few days. I need you to look after your Mom for me." Angel told her. "Okay, Dad. Normally I wouldn't mind but you have 'something' face." Elizabeth sighed. "So, you wanna tell me what's going on?" "Where did you learn to be so intuitive?" Angel asked. "I've always been that way, Dad." Elizabeth replied. "Now, tell me what this big secret is that you don't want Mom to know about. Huh?" "She's in danger." Angel blurted out. "She's always in danger, Dad." Elizabeth reminded him. "So, it's gotta be something huge that's got you so worked up. What's she in danger from?" "Me." "Why would she be in danger from you, Dad? Angelus is contained, has been for many years now. No worries." Elizabeth shrugged. "You don't understand, Elizabeth." Dad growled. "Then explain it to me." "I can't." he defied. "Why not?" "You wouldn't understand, Elizabeth." "Help me to understand, then, okay? Don't treat me like a child. I'm eighteen years old, I'm not a child anymore." Elizabeth yelled. "Just tell me what's going on." "I'm not sure I fully understand myself. Cordelia said that--" Angel started to say. "Cordelia?!" Elizabeth interrupted him. "Dad, I can't believe you actually listened to her." "Look, Elizabeth, I know that you don't like her but she's my best friend." Angel mentioned. "Like? NO, I don't like her, Dad. I hate her, I loathe and despise her. " Elizabeth retorted. "She tried to break up my family. She tried to tear you and Mom apart and almost killed Uncle Doyle in the process. So, no, Dad, I don't like her." "She was under a spell, Liz. You know that." Angel replied. "You of all people should know what that's like." "I didn't kill anybody. She did. She almost killed Aunt Will and a good portion of our family, including Mom." Elizabeth scoffed. "I don't see how you can just move past that. And please, don't give me the "All The Bad Things I Did When I Was Angelus" speech again. I've heard it. It's not the same. She abused her higher being status to try and make you fall in love with her. That's something I can never get past. Now, Cordelia's gotten you all worked up for nothing. Just sit back, relax. Nothing bad's gonna happen, you know? We're warriors. What could possibly happen?" Chapter 3 Chapter 3 "Something's gonna happen." Elizabeth complained. "You're overreacting." Hope, Liz's best friend assumed. "Cordelia would never do that." "How much did your parents tell you?" Elizabeth asked. Hope was the eldest child of Wesley and Fred. "Just that Cordelia was evil for a while and hurt a lot of people." Hope shrugged. "That's the G version." Elizabeth said. "Dad's really worried about my mom. He wanted to go away for a few days but I told him that Cordelia was lying when she said that Buffy needed to be protected from him. My father would never hurt anyone, especially my Mom." "Except for--" Hope recalled. "Except for those times when he did, I know." Liz said. "But he was a vampire then, he's not now. A lot of things have changed. No one ever thought a vampire and a Slayer could conceive, but here I am. Living proof of that lie. I just.I don't trust Cordelia and I sure as Hell don't trust her daughter." "Why don't you trust Alexia?" Hope asked. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I've known Alexia my whole life practically and I love her to death, but I know how her mom can be. Self centered, manipulative. I know what it's like to be influenced like that. Plus, Alexia spends far more time with her mother than with her Dad." Liz concluded. "But Doyle's gone fighting half the time." Hope countered. "And when he is there, Alexia already has plans and can't ever seem to cancel them long enough to spend ten minutes with Uncle. He's over at our house most of the time, trying like Hell not to drink himself into a stupor." Liz sighed. "I know that Doyle loves Cordelia and I'm pretty positive that in her own way, Cordelia loves him back, but she's so obsessed with my Dad that she failed to realize the wonderful life she, Doyle, and Alexia could have had together, as a family." "You sound like a romance novel." Hope joked. "Thank you, I think." Liz chuckled. "Look, don't stress about Cordelia. Everything will work out, you know. It always does." Hope reassured her. "You sound like my father." Liz rolled her eyes. "Good. Maybe now you'll get the message through that thick headed skull of yours." Hope smiled as they walked through the quad. "Hey guys." Alexia greeted them. "Hi, Alexia." Hope smiled once more. "Hey." Elizabeth shifted her school bag uncomfortably. "What's with the tragedy masks? Did someone die or something?" she asked. *Not yet.* Elizabeth thought. "No, no, 'course not." Liz shook her head. "Just some girly family stuff that I had to talk to Hope about." "Oh, sure." Alexia nodded, not letting it show that she felt left out. "I understand." "Um, I have to go to class." Elizabeth looked at her watch. "I'll see you after school, Hope?" "Yeah." Hope nodded. "Like always." "Alexia, do you need a lift?" Elizabeth asked politely. "If it's not too much trouble. Mom's car's in the shop." Alexia stated. "Okay, then I'll meet you in the northeast parking lot after school." Elizabeth said. "Later, guys." "Bye." Her two friends said simultaneously. "What's up with her?" Alexia asked and Hope just shrugged. What in the Hell was Elizabeth up to? Chapter 4 Chapter 4 After Elizabeth had dropped Alexia off at her house, the blonde drove straight to her Aunt and Uncle Osbourne's house. "Hey." Elizabeth kissed her boyfriend, Nicholas Osbourne, eldest of Oz and Willow's kids. "What's going on?" Nicholas asked. "I thought we weren't meeting 'til later." "We're not. I need to talk to your mom." Liz explained. "Should I be worried?" Nick asked. "No. I just--I need to talk to Willow about some personal stuff. Where is she?" Liz asked politely. "In the study with the twins." "Okay." Liz nodded. "I'll see you after I'm done, okay?" "Cool." Nick nodded and kissed her goodbye again. Elizabeth made her way into the study. Willow was sleeping while the 'twin terrors' were playing with blocks about a foot away from her on the floor. "Aunt Willow?" Buffy shook her. "Elizabeth!" Willow hugged her goddaughter. "I didn't know you were coming over." "I have a problem." Liz blurted out. "It's about Mom and Dad, so obviously I came to you for help." "What is it?" Willow motioned for her to sit down. "You know you can tell me anything." "It's Cordelia again. She's been telling my father that Buffy needs to be protected from him." Liz cried. "I think she's trying to steal Daddy away again." "Elizabeth, I'm sure that's not true." Willow shook her head. "Cordelia's changed. She's not the evil bitch that we all once perceived her to be." "So, you won't help me?" Liz pleaded. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I really think you need to deal with Cordelia on your own." Willow told her. "I'll just get someone else. If my mother dies and I find out that you could've helped prevent it, I will personally see to it that you suffer at my hands." Elizabeth threatened and stormed out of the house. **** Elizabeth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see a figure pummel her to the ground in the local park. Elizabeth kicked them from behind and stood up. The figure turned around, revealing herself to be a thin brunette with shoulder-length locks. "I know you." Elizabeth recalled. "You're Faith. My parents named me after you." "True." Faith agreed. "I suppose you're wondering while I'm here." "Kind of." Elizabeth nodded. "Is there some danger a brewin'? Should I beware?" "I've been sent by The Powers That Be." Faith continued, ignoring her last comment. "The people who screwed my parents out of a normal life? Yeah, okay." Elizabeth mocked. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." "Listen." Faith grabbed her arm. "You're the only hope." "What, you're not going to ask 'Saint' Cordelia?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "How noble of you." "Cordelia Chase is a lost cause to us." Faith sighed. "Most people are blind to her faults. You're not. Well, you and her dead ex-boyfriend. That's why we need you." "Need me? Need me for what?" Elizabeth asked. "The Powers That Be want to send you back in time, to change things. Get Angel away from Cordelia and Buffy away from Spike." Faith finished. "Send me back in time? You can't make time travel happen. That's impossible." Elizabeth shook her head. "You live in a world with vampires and demons, and you think time travel is impossible?" Faith chuckled. "So, I need an answer here, kid." "If it'll get Cordelia away from my family once and for all, then yes." Elizabeth agreed. "When do we start?" "As soon as possible." Faith said. "You probably want to spend some time with your parents. Before." "What'll happen to them? Me?" Elizabeth murmured. "Assuming everything goes according to plan, you'll end up back in the future, a very different future." Faith assured her. "And if I fail?" she pondered. "Then we all perish." Faith said. "Can you deal with that?" "I think so." Elizabeth nodded. "I'd like to say goodbye to everyone first. I'll meet you here in the morning?" "All right." Faith agreed and disappeared as fast as she'd come. **** Elizabeth knocked on the Osbourne's door. She was surprised when Willow answered, wearing a smile on her face. "Elizabeth. I was hoping you'd come back." Willow spoke. "Hello, Aunt Will." Elizabeth smiled. "I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. You did the right thing and I had no right to snap at you." "Please, don't apologize." Willow shook her head. "You were trying to protect your family. I would have done the same had it been Oz, or any of my children in danger." "Yes, but I acted rather rashly." Elizabeth said. "I need to talk to Nick. Is he here?" "Yes, upstairs." Willow told her. "Thank you, Aunt Willow. Always remember I love you." Elizabeth hugged her. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere." Willow smiled. "You sound as if you're never gonna see me again." *Oh, if you only knew.* Elizabeth thought. "Don't be silly. I'm just emotional. That time of the month, you know?" Liz covered. "I'll see you soon." She walked slowly upstairs to Nick's room and watched him for a few minutes as he laid on his bed listening to his music. *I'm gonna miss.* she thought to herself and opened the door a little wider. "Hey." Nick greeted his girlfriend with a sexy smile. "I was just thinking about you." "Good thoughts, I hope." She fidgeted nervously. "Always good thoughts." As if on cue, he noticed her uneasiness. "You wanna tell me what's going on here?" "I have to cancel our date tonight." Elizabeth informed him. "Why?" Nick asked. "I can't tell you." She sighed. "Lizzie, you can tell me anything." He spoke, using the nickname he gave her when they were only toddlers. "It's complicated, Nick." Elizabeth moved away from him. "You need to move on, to be with someone else. Someone who makes you feel happy, complete. Whole." "I'm looking at her." Nick sighed. "What's all this about?" "I told you, okay? I need you to move on." She cried. "Why?" "Because I'm not going to be around!" she screamed. "I'm leaving, Nicholas. I'm going to a place where you can't follow me. So, I need you to move on. Please.For me." "I'm sorry, Elizabeth." He told her. "I can't do that. I'm never gonna change, I can't change. I want my life to be with you." "I don't." That being said, Elizabeth O'Connor ran out of the Osbourne household and never ever looked back.